Apparatus for marking leather, textile, or paper fabrics, or other suitable material



M y 1940- w. J. HILL 2 19 822 APPARATUS FOR MARKING LEATHER, TEXTILE OR PAPER FABRICS, OR OTHER SUITABLE MATERIAL Filed Feb. 16, 1959 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 INVENTOR'. WILLIHMU'OHN Huu.

FITTO RNEY w. J; HILL May 7, 1940. v APPARATUS FOR MARKING LEATHER, TEXTILE 0R PAPER FABRICS, OR OTHER SUITABLE MATERIAL 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed Feb. 16, 1959 m 5 M w w 8 T n 5 v 0... 8 mm s F B w m ,V a 4 7 F////// m;

Patented May 7, 1940 UNITED vSTATE.it:

APPARATUS FOR MARKING LEATHER, TEX- TILE, OR PAPER- FABRIC S, OR OTHER SUITABLE MATERIAL William .l'ohn Hill, Redland, England Application February 16, 1939, Serial No. 256,693

In Great Britain February 17, 1938 2 Claims.

This invention relates to apparatus for simultaneously marking a'position on each of a plurality of layers of leather, textile or paper fabrics, or other suitable material, such as cut-out parts which are intended for assembly into an'article,

for example, a garment. Such apparatus may be used for example for marking the correct position for buttons, button holes, pocket openings, lapels, and the like. I

Frequently, such cut-out parts are individually marked, which, of course, is a long process and liable to error, or alternatively, a number of layers are plled'one upon theother, and the said positions are indicated by piercing a hollow punch through the layers. In some materials the holes thus made are prone to close up rendering it difficult, if not impossible, subsequently to locate them. According to another method, cotton is threaded through a plurality of layers, but this go necessitates cutting the cotton between each layer and subsequently removing the threads which takes time, and is not altogether satisfactory.

1 According to the present invention I provide an apparatus whereby a spot of paint or other col ouring matter is deposited at predetermined points on a plurality of superimposed layers of textile fabric.

The apparatus may comprise a hollow needle, a needle guide, a wire or the like adapted to pass through the needle and take upcolouring matter contained in a reservoir, the arrangement being such that the needle, after penetrating the layers of fabric, is retracted, and subsequently the wire bearing the colouring matter and thus a spot of the colouring matter is left on' each layer of the fabric in the pile.

Means may also be provided for gauging the exact position for the needle'to penetrate the layers and for permitting adjustments to be made 40 to allow for variation in the number of layers being dealt with at a time. I

The components of the apparatus may be as sembled in such a manner as to be readily dismantled when desired.

In order that the invention may be clearly understood reference is directed to theacco'mpanying drawings, wherein:

Fig. l is a side elevation of apparatus in accordance with the invention showing one position of the parts;

Fig. 2 is a side elevation similar to Fig. l but of the reverse side thereof and showing another position of the parts;

Fig. 3 is a sectional elevation showing the (Cl. Mil-26) needle and the associated parts prior to fo-rceable I penetration of a plurality of layers of fabric;

Fig. 4 is a sectional elevation of the lower end of the needle together with the lower part of the paint applying wire; A Fig. 5 is a section on the line VV of Fig. 4;

Figs. 6, 7 and 8 show respectively the several stages of operation of the apparatus;

Fig. 9 is a fragmentary view of a portion of ma-- terial after treatment in the apparatus.

In one form of apparatus according to the in- Vention there is provided a main casting l supporting the operative parts of the apparatus and having a base 2 on which the layers of fabric to be marked are piled in superimposed relationship.- 16 An aperture 3 in the base allows for the passage of a hollow needle 4 the upper end of which is secured to a plug 5 screwed into the bottom end of a cylinder 6, the lower part of which constitutesa paint reservoir. The cylinder 6 is progo vided with a filling orifice l and a longitudinal slot 60:. Within the hollow needle 4 and extending above it into the cylinder .6 is a length of square cross-section wire 8 the upper end of which is anchored to the lower extremity of a rod 9 disposed inthe cylinder 8 and adapted to be reciprocated therein. The upper end of the rod 9 carrying the wire 8 is provided with a collar l I which has a sliding fit in the cylinder 6. The

upper end of the cylinder 6 is fitted with a threaded plug '82 whichis adjustable for varying the limit of the upward travel of the rod 9 carry ing the wire 8. About the rod is disposed a spiral spring 13, the upper end of which bears against the collar H and the lower end bears upon an annular stop It fixed in the cylinder 6 and through which the rod 9 slides. The cylinder 6 is adapted to be reciprocated by a forked hand lever 15 pivotally mounted on a pivot pin 16 in the main casting l, the lever l5 being counter- 4 balanced by a weight ii. The cylinder 6 is op eratively connected to the hand lever l 5 through the medium of oppositely disposed studs or trunnions on the cylinder 6 which engage apertures,

one in each limb of the fork, the cylinder 6 slid- K or view an opening 25 through which the hollow needle 4 is adapted to pass. Encircling the cylinder 6 within the tubular member I9 is a spiral spring 26, the top end bearing against the adjustable collar 22 and the bottom end against the plug 24 at the bottom of the tubular member [9.

A bracket 21 is slidably mounted on a post 28 and carries a spring-controlled pawl 29 and trigger device 3!, both having arms 32, 33 respectively. A trip plate 34 is mounted on the side of the cylinder 6 and is provided with a cam surface 35. The position of the trip plate 34 is adjustable vertically through the medium of a slot 36 therein and a thumb screw 31 by means of which it is clamped in the required position, the trip plate 34 being adapted to release the pawl 23 at the appropriate moment from engagement with the collar ll of the rod 9 carrying the wire 8 at its lower end. An adjustable catch plate 38 is adapted, when the slidable bracket 21 is at its lowest position, to retain the arm 33 of the trigger device andthus hold the slidable bracket 21 down until the needle 4 is withdrawn through the material, the upward movement of the cylinder 6 causing its release when the cam surface of the trip plate 34 strikes the arm 32 of the pawl 29 which allows the rod 9, under the influence of its spring 3, to ascend.

The slidable bracket 27 has pivotally connected at 39 the upper ends of a pair of adjustable conneoting rods 4|, 42, one on each opposite side of the post 2, the lower ends of said rods being pivotally connected at 43 to the forward ends of a secondary pair of pivotal levers 44 mounted on the same pivot pin 16 as the main hand lever I 5 and counterbalanced by means of a weight 45.

Fitted to a boss 40 on the main casting l of the machine and arranged adjacent the pivot pin l6 of the levers 44 and hand lever I5 is an adjustable screw 46 adapted to make contact with a catch plate 41 on the main hand lever l5. The catch plate 41 engages a short lever 48 rigidly mounted on one end of a rock shaft 49 disposed in bearings in the casting 1 below the pivot 56 of the main lever l5. The other ,end of the shaft 49 on the opposite side of the machine has rigidly secured thereto a toothed quadrant 5| which meshes with a toothed quadrant 52 rigidly secured to the secondary levers 44. .These toothed quadrants enable the movement of the secondary levers 44 to be accelerated in relation to the main hand lever l5.

An adjustable stop 58 determines the downward limit of movement of the hand lever, but other forms of limiting stop mechanism may be used.

Instead of operating the levers by hand, how ever, this may be done by pedal with suitable connections.

In order to assist in the penetration of the multiple layers of fabric indicated'by the reference A in Figs, 6, '7, 8 and 9, the lower end of the needle 4 is chamfered as shown at 53. The needle is of cylindrical form and in order to close the lower end thereof during the penetration motion through the fabric the marking wire 8 is formed with a cylindrical plug end 54 which acts as a stopper to the end of the needle, the shank of the marking wire 8 being of square cross sec tion so as to provide spaces 55 which permit of the marking paint to be retained on the marking wire during the time it is housed within the needle 4. g

In operation, the layers of material A to be marked are placed in position upon the base 2 beneath the needle 4, and the stops and the trip plate 34 are set or adjusted to suit the number of layers of material the needle has to penetrate, which may vary from time to time. A suflicient quantity of suitable colouring matter is inserted in the cylinder 6 and the hand lever I5 is depressed to lower the cylinder 6 and tubular member I8 are drawn down, the needle penetrating the various layers in the predetermined spot, see

Fig. 6; at the same time the trip rod 9 is also drawn down against the resistance of its spring l3. The spring 26 disposed in the tubular member l9 tends constantly to lift the cylinder 6 and also to firmly compress the material during the operation of marking. Downward movement of the hand lever l 5 also moves the secondary lever 44, drawing the slidable bracket 2'? down, so that the pawl 29 engages the collar H on the rod 9 which carries the marking wire 8 and in turn, draws the rod 9 down. The operation is such that by the time the hollow needle has penetrated'the pile of cloth the lower end of the marking wire, which travels downwardly faster than the needle, reaches the bottom of the needle. down, the arm 33 of the trigger device 3| en-' gages the catch plate 38 which retains the rodin drawn down position until the hand lever is, raised leaving the rod behind (see Fig. 7) until the cam surface 35 of the trip plate 34 strikes the arm 32 of the pawl 29 which releases the latter from engagement with the collar H of the rod 9, the latter then ascending under the influence of the spring 23 which bears against the under face'of the collar H and consequently retracts the wire through the superimposed layers of fabric A leaving a spot or mark B on each layer therein, see Figs. 8 and 9. The operation is repeated until all the required marks have been made in the layers.

It will be understood that in the-first instance the top layer would if necessary be initially marked by the use of apattern so that each position can be brought into correct position relative to the needle. The correct position for example may be obtained by placing a circle around the point to be marked on'the top layer of superimposed layers of fabric and then manipulate the mass of layers as a whole until the circle coincides with the lower, end of the tubular member, when the latter is depressed.

In an alternative arrangement the whole apparatus may be moved by suitable mechanism over the surface of the material to be marked:

It is to be further understood that I do not limit myself to the precise details herein set forth, for example, the wire may be other than square in cross section, and other modifications may be made without departing from the scope of the invention, for example although the particular construction described herein allows for the penetration of the layers of material firstly by a needle followed by a marking wire both the needle and the marking wire may be forced into the layers of fabric at the same speed instead of at different speeds as herein described. Furthermore, the marking wire may be operated manually instead of automatically upon the operation of the needle, that is to say, the needle may first be entered by means of the hand lever and there: after the marking wire passed through the needle by a manual operation being automatically retracted upon the withdrawal movement of. the

needle. 7

What I claim and desire to secure by Letters Patent is: v

When fully 1. Apparatus for simultaneously marking a predetermined point on a plurality of layers of material comprising a hollow needle supported at one end of the cylindrical member, a marking Wire extending through said hollow needle, lever mechanism for reciprocating said cylindrical member to force said needle together with said marking wire into said layers oimaterial, said marking wire being disposed within said tubular member, means for reciprocating said marking Wire and releasable latching mechanism to hold said marking wire in position within and in contact with said layers upon the return movement of said hollow needle, and means urging said wire into retracted position within said needle and restrained from action by said latching mechanism, and means acting to release said latching mechanism upon completion of the return movement of the needle and thereby releasing the last mentioned means for effecting retraction of the Wire.

2. Apparatus for simultaneously marking a predetermined point on a plurality of layers of material comprising a hollow needle, a cylindrical support therefor constituting a reservoir for a marking medium, means for reciprocating said cylindrical support, a marking wire extending through said needle and disposed within said cylindrical support and adapted to retain a modicum of said marking medium, means for reciprocating said marking wire, lever mechanism common to both said reciprocating means and operable to cause both said needle and said marking wire to penetrate together said layers of material with the needle in advance of the said marking wire and operable to retract said needle, spring means urging said wire to retracted position within the needle, releasable latching means engaging said wire upon completion of its reciprocating movement downwardly, said lever mechanism acting to compress the spring means upon retractile movement of said needle, means carried by the needle and engaging the latching means upon completion of retractile movement of the needle to release the latter whereby the spring acts to retract the wire, and a tubular member movable with said cylindrical member under resilient action and constituting a presser foot to clamp said layers of material in position to be marked.

WILLIAM JOHN HILL. 25 

